Empire's profit dipped in the first quarter despite a boost in sales.
Empire's sales rose to $7.9 billion in the first quarter, up 4.1 per cent from a year ago. The company said in a financial update on Thursday that the jump was due to higher fuel sales and food inflation.
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As household food bills climb higher and higher, more shoppers are looking for bargains at discount stores such as Fresh Co. Statistics Canada found that the prices of groceries were up in July.
Empire had a profit of $187 million, down from $188 million a year ago. The earnings per share was lower than expected but still higher than the previous year.
Empire's margin was slightly slimmer in the quarter due to higher supply chain costs. Empire's gross margin fell to 24.9% from 25.1% last year. If fuel sales were excluded, the gross margin would be 63 basis points higher.
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